VALDOSTA – Dr. J.C. Moore Senior Living is making its way to the historic district on Patterson Street following approval from Valdosta City Council.

Dr. Justin Moore requested a Conditional Use Permit for two adjacent personal care homes at 1109 & 1111 N. Patterson St., which is in a Residential Professional zoning district.

Moore is a prospective new owner of the properties and is planning to convert each of the homes into a family-sized (six or fewer residents – each) personal care home for elderly patients. He proposed four residents with two staff members in the southbound house (three-bedroom), and five residents with two staff members in the northbound house (four-bedroom), for a total of nine residents and four staff.

His intention is to “expand his ministry” and provide seniors with tailor-made treatment in the comfort of a homelike environment. The facility will require 24/7 services with one manager and minimum of two awake staff onsite for a total of six staff minimum 24/7. One certified nursing assistant per house will work staggered shifts for backup purposes.

“I started this ministry about two years ago when my father fell ill. We didn’t want to put him in a nursing home, so we had to hire different CNAs to come into his house. This is what we’re attempting to do here. We want to create a homely atmosphere and share ideas of Christ to serve the elderly in our community,” he said.

Moore added he won’t make any physical changes to the site nor the outside of the homes – other than the addition of rear ADA access ramps and re-striping of parking spaces.

Matt Martin, city planning and zoning administrator, said what makes the request unique is the subject area of Patterson Street is not “your typical single-family neighborhood.”

“The subject properties are indeed residential in character and have a long history of being used as rental houses. However, they are zoned R-P which means they allow all forms of residential as well as professional offices. They are located along a busy street that is a non-residential corridor whose land uses are dominated by professional offices and light commercial,” he said.

“Therefore, the issues in this particular case are not those of compatibility with the surrounding neighborhood but rather a compatibility with the existing historic structures and historic theme of the area.”

Ultimately, the planning committee recommended approval with three conditions:

1) Approval shall be granted for up to two state-licensed and fully compliant family personal care homes on the subject properties, with no more than five residents in each facility, and no more than nine total residents in both facilities. No other uses allowed in R-P zoning shall be allowed on the property that are in addition to the personal care homes.

2) There shall be no temporary signage, and permanent signs shall be limited to those which are allowed in the historic district under R-P zoning and in accordance with the historic district design guidelines.

3) Conditional use approval shall expire after two years from the date of approval if no city business license has been approved for the facilities by that date.

Rudolph Robinson, Dr. Cynthia Bell, Kimberly Paulk, Courtney Wilcox and Schawana Ruffin, members of the project team, further elaborated in their letter of intent for the request, stating that people 65 and older make “a significant portion” of Valdosta and need specialized care.

“The expansion will give each resident an opportunity to embrace their independence and assist them in avoiding the isolation and segregation that is often experienced when seniors are forced to live in institutions, nursing homes and other larger senior living facilities,” the report said.

“The residents living at Dr J.C Moore Senior Living will require assistance with multiple daily living activities, such as cleaning, medication management, bathing, etc. The landscape at Dr. J.C Moore Senior Living will add to the general spirit of Valdosta.”

City Council unanimously approved the permit.